Sensitivity to salt

OTp1144

OTp1144

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So I'm almost done setting up my new 300 and the first inhabitants will be a channel cat, RTC and sailfin pleco. However the tank was a reef tank prior to me getting it and while I've cleaned off a ton of salt deposits, I haven't been able to get everything. How sensitive are these guys and how meticulous should I be about trying to get the salt off?

For reference, I got the sides, top and bottom clean and most of the output nozzles. However the inside of the overflow is hard to get fully clean as well as any deposits inside pipes that I'm unable to see or get to.

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divemaster99

divemaster99

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Most Ictalurids (except Noturus sps.) have a high tolerance for small amounts of salt, just make sure not to let it elevate to high. My gibbiceps pleco has also tolerated it for the period of a few weeks as well when I was treating his tank for parasites. Can't say about the RTC though as I've never kept Pimelodids.
 
OTp1144

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Thanks for the response. Someone on reddit mentioned the amount of salt left, being diluted by 375g of water, shouldn't really be a big deal. Especially if I keep up with water changes. So that's the plan. Keep a close eye and keep up with water changes. And cross my fingers lol. :)

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Drstrangelove

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heretix said:
Thanks for the response. Someone on reddit mentioned the amount of salt left, being diluted by 375g of water, shouldn't really be a big deal. Especially if I keep up with water changes. So that's the plan. Keep a close eye and keep up with water changes. And cross my fingers lol. :)

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Just an FYI: fish that will tolerate salt at a certain level, can die if they are suddenly placed at that level (rather than being slowly acclimated to it)


Taste the water. If the salt is very faint (like very, very watered down soup), it may be okay. However, if the taste is clearly salty (something less than the ocean, but still noticeable), I'd try to remove more salt. Water changes will gradually remove all except the deposits. Just be prepared to do an emergency WC if you see the fish are stressed.
 
OTp1144

OTp1144

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Drstrangelove said:
Taste the water.
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I actually have a TDS meter. (Thought it was a salt meter). But I've tested my tap water and the tank water and I've assumed the difference in readings will be any salt left in the tank. Of course, my tap water is reading higher than the tank water.... but I guess that mean's there isn't a lot of salt? I dunno... I'll probably just taste it lol

Drstrangelove said:
Just be prepared to do an emergency WC if you see the fish are stressed.
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I'm prepared for that and for scooping them back out and putting them back in the holding pool right away.
 
thebiggerthebetter

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It sounds like it is not the "salt" salt (mostly sodium chloride) you should be worried about as that it is long gone with all the washing you've done. The hard deposits are the chemicals (classified as salts in chemistry too) that make water hard - inorganic and maybe some organic salts of calcium and magnesium that are poorly soluble in water. Reef''s made up of calcium carbonate, close to 100% IIRC. That's the same as chalk, egg shell, sea shell, etc.

You may have an elevated hardness at the beginning which will be taken out with WCs over time. I'd probably not worry about it too much and observe closely. For peace of mind, piping / tubing can be replaced.

TDS meter does not distinguish between hardness and salinity but lumps it together.
 
OTp1144

OTp1144

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thebiggerthebetter said:
TDS meter does not distinguish between hardness and salinity but lumps it together.
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Yeah.... I learned that the hard way after I bought it. lol What's weird is that the tank's TDS is lower than my tap though. I'd have expected it to be higher since there should have been more dissolved "salts" in it. I did also find out, TDS meters take nitrates in to account as well. I'm not sure how I can incorporate this in to water changes and testing the water, but I'm sure there's a way somehow. lol

On another note, all 3 fish have been in the tank for 72 hours and show no signs of stress due to water quality. The channel is nipping at the red tail however.... That I'm not okay with.
 
thebiggerthebetter

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Home TDS meters are notoriously ill fitted. They are ok for crude measurements and even at that old fashion ones with an analog display are said by water professionals to be superior to the new, digital ones. I'd not trust 10-50 ppm difference. It may be ok for showing a difference in 100's of ppm.

That's a recommended one by Myron http://www.cannonwater.net/MyronL_512T10_DS_Meter.aspx note $200 not $30-$50 for cheapies like that http://www.cannonwater.net/AquaPro_AP-1_TDS_Meter.aspx - with these you get what you paid for.

The Myron one is the one my RO installers use and recommend to me (and I produce 10,000 gal a day 365 days a year).
 
thebiggerthebetter

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I am getting schooled by a Professor on TDS meters here. Beware and learn yourself: http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=41899&p=285752#p285752 in particular "Relatively cheap low range conductivity meters will give you accurate and repeatable measurements... Any meter that offers low range (0 - 999microS) and automatic temperature compensation will give you a reasonably accurate (within a ~1 microS) result... I think even a £50 low range meter will be accurate to 1 - 2%..."
 
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